Visit us in Piso Firme

In the countryside

On the road in the Oriente

It is difficult nowadays and often very expensive for nature-enthusiasts or scientists to reach an authentic, unspoiled wilderness area. Staying there for any length of time to observe wildlife or to enjoy other experiences usually means enduring hardships and, if lodging is available, inconveniences or low hygienic standards.

Our resort, which includes a park and cabañas built in a rustic, local style, is clean and comfortable and offers an attractive alternative. It is also a starting point for fascinating excursions into seldom explored areas, almost void of people and covered with rainforests, palm savannahs, large and small rivers, lakes, etc. These areas teem with the wildlife of South America, which, unfortunately, has disappeared to a great extent in other regions due to harmful human activities.

The community of Piso Firme is located in the center of this almost untouched land (longitude 62º 15', latitude 14º 15'). The community sits on the banks of a tributory of the Amazon River system, surrounded by forests and savannahs in the temporarily dry regions.

In this setting our lodge is an ideal starting-point for excursions into a variety of landscapes.

What can be seen there?

Many species of great mammals can be seen with luck and patience. Apart from the wide variety of plant-life in the vicinity of Piso Firme, you can also find:

About 400 species of birds: These include three species of macaws, different types of toucans, eagles, kingfishers, and herons, just to name a few of the more obvious ones, as well as innumerable smaller birds.

Amphibians and reptiles: Caimans and iguanas of different types, river and land turtles, anacondas and a variety of other snakes. Below the surface of rivers and lakes, from the visible species range from the well known and frequently seen to very rare and spectacular amphibians and fish. One can still often find currently undetermined species of fish. Rio Paraguá at night in the light of a lantern resembles a densely inhabited giant aquarium.

Insects: A vast variety of butterflies and other spectacular representatives of the tropics are to be found.

Mammals: Apart from the frequently seen river-dolphins, giant river-otters, capibaras, South American foxes, agutis, monkeys and others, some patience and luck is required to observe jaguars, tigrillo-cats, pecaris, tapirs, forest-dogs, etc.

Type of accomodation

Our lodge is situated on a large park-like site. It consists of six different houses (cabañas) built in the customary rustic style on the banks of the Rio Paraguá andthe buildings serve different purposes. One large cabaña is used mainly as a dining room and lounge; there is also a completely tiled bathroom cabaña with modern sanitary equipment, a kitchen, and several cabañas for sleeping and relaxing in. Everything is laid out like a small Bolivian village of the eastern lowlands, but the lodge is also comfortable, clean, and functional to foreigners.

The water (all purpose) is of excellent quality and flows under pressure from a water system supplied by SIMBIOSIS-Mensch und Natur e.V. for the Piso Firme community. As compensation, our association received the property to build a visitors' center and the promise of the local residents to work together for the conservation of the natural environment and respect for its biological diversity.

Our manager Sra. Maribel Añez cares for the SIMBIOSIS complex. From time to time, she and other villagers receive paid orders from us, demonstrating our intention to better the standard of living over the long term in the village, so that the villagers will not depend on exploiting nature in an unsustainable manner.

Above all, we aspire to keep an enchanting countryside from remaining unknown to outsiders, because everything in our modern world is liable to some sort of destruction, if, in good time, it is not given widespread attention.

Journey to Piso Firme

One or several of the following route options can be chosen:

One can take a flight from Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Lima or La Paz to Santa Cruz de la Sierra. From there, one can travel either by charter plane (economical for small groups), which takes three hours from Santa Cruz to Piso Firme, or by land, using all-wheel vehicles with possible stopovers in significant tourist attractions of the Chiquitania (named by UNESCO as a world heritage site). The trip can also be taken as a adventure tour on cross-country bicycles or motorbikes accompanied by a vehicle) on 320 km of unforgettable jungle-track, or by way of Pimentera/Brasil, where you can be collected by motor-launch. The journey on the rivers Iténez and the Paraguá is an impressive experience. It goes without saying that you can go ashore wherever and for as long as you want. Also, you could go up the untouched Rio Pauserna to the spectacular waterfalls of Arco Iris and Federico Ahlfeld in the Kempff-Mercado National Park.